


Tapioca Pearls

by diamondgore



Category: Generation X (Comic), Wolverine and the X-Men (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coming Out, Fluff without Plot, Gen, M/M, admitting feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 21:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16272506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondgore/pseuds/diamondgore
Summary: Being woken up from his nap is bad enough, but the fact that Nate is woken up by Quentin with bubble tea somehow makes things much worse.





	Tapioca Pearls

**Author's Note:**

> One of the most important conversations i had about my sexuality was at midnight in a shady McDonalds with my best friend. I thought maybe Quentin deserved that type of convo too. 
> 
> Happy Coming Out Day, BTWS. This was written for coming out day! I hope you all had a blessed one. 
> 
> This is a slightly different more dialogue based writing style. I'm still working with it and trying to fine tune it. 
> 
>  
> 
> [I'm also on tumblr, if you wanna hmu! ](http://diamondsynth.tumblr.com)

“I bought you bubble tea.” Quentin said, handing Nate a sealed cup of purple liquid to Nate. “You like the Taro-flavored shit, right?” He was hovering over the white-haired man, poking him awake. 

 

“Quentin?” Nate responded, opening his eyes only slightly to the pink menace who was disturbing him. “What?”

 

“Bubble tea. You like that, right?” 

 

Nate was too disoriented to really pay attention to what was going on. He had just woken up from a nap, and now was being bombarded by Quentin, who didn’t even knock on the door and instead just let himself in. He sat up in bed and rubbed his face with the back of hand, then reached out to grab the cup. Usually, he would be more suspicious of Quentin, and not accept a drink from him, but this seemed innocent enough. 

 

And his brain wasn’t thinking clearly anyway. 

 

He would be mad, but the fact that Quentin had offered him something he had been craving for a week was sweet. Quentin was also damn lucky that Nate was having a dream about kissing Benji and not a nightmare. 

 

“Do you have a straw?” Nate said, finally sitting up, and shifting so that his back was against the wall. He still hadn’t wrapped his head on what Quentin was doing here, but he couldn’t really ask, or better yet, it didn’t dawn on him to ask. 

 

Quentin nodded, and handed him a thick purple straw. “They didn’t have any white ones left.” He shrugged. “That’s your favorite color, right?” Quentin was clearly trying to impress Nate or get on his good side, but Nate couldn’t figure out which one it was. 

 

Nate put removed the sheets from his legs, and placed the cup between his slender thighs, and then stabbed the sheer film on top with the sharp end of the straw. “How’d you know?” He asked, before sticking the straw in between his lips. He took a sip, Quentin had ordered his tea over-sweetened with little ice. Hell, it was still freezing, Quentin put some thought into this. 

 

“How did I know about what?” Quentin’s not acting coy or dumb, for once in his life, he truly didn’t know. 

 

Nate gestured at the straw and at the tea in his hands. “You bought me tea. My favorite flavor, 110% sugar. Purple’s my second favorite color.”

 

“I have ears.” Quentin shrugged. “I don’t just sit around and look pretty.” He shifted his weight uncomfortably, staring at the bed he wanted to sit down, but didn’t want to seem like an ass and shove Nate off the bed. 

 

“You’re not pretty, Quentin.” Nate yawned, and took another sip. “I doubt you sit around and do anything while  _ pretty _ .”

 

“No need to be  _ mean _ .” This is Quentin’s chance to be an ass and still have his decision justified. He pushed Nate to the side, and then sat on the bed next to him. He tucked his legs underneath him and then slipped on his drink. Nate only groaned slightly in response. “But I do listen to you talk.” 

 

Nate’s eyes were still too tired to be wide in shock, instead he offered a tilted stare. “When have I ever talked about bubble tea? If I recall correctly, we’ve never gone to get some together.” 

 

“You and Roxy did, though.” Quentin almost choked on a tapioca pearl. “I’m hurt you didn’t invite me.”

 

Nate patted his back gently, careful to not make any contact with his skin. The last thing he wanted was to be woken up with Quentin’s trauma. 

 

“You never said you wanted to come.” Nate took another sip. “Plus you’re usually an ass, so there’s no reason to invite you. You swear you didn’t read my mind to find all this out?” Not that Nate would be surprised at this point, but he really hoped that Quentin was being honest about listening in. 

 

Quentin nodded, and crossed his left arm over his chest. “Scout’s honor.” 

 

“Like you have  _ any _ honor.” 

 

Quentin frowned, and didn’t reply, possibly biting his own tongue in hopes of extending the conversation with Nate. 

 

Nate didn’t want to kick Quentin out, as he was being awfully polite, and not especially shitty. Something was up, and Nate’s curiosity would kill him before he let Quentin’s good deed go unpunished. 

 

“Why are you here?” Nate asked. “I know you didn’t walk all the way to Columbus Circle to get me bubble tea for nothing.” 

 

“Is it so hard to believe I just wanted to hang out with you?” 

 

Nate nodded. “You want something. You can either tell me or I can force it out of you.” 

 

Quentin scrunched his nose, and then took along sip of his tea. “I wanted to talk. Like some heart to heart type of bullshit , you know? Whatever girls do behind closed doors.” 

 

“You want...to talk? About what? What could we possibly have in common other than being D-List X-men?” Nate said, and Quentin winced at that statement. “Or is your idea of a heart to heart us talking for a grand total of three minutes and then having a sexy pillow fight?” He didn’t want to be mean, but part of him really wanted to throw what Quentin dished out back into his face. 

 

“I’m being honest, would you fucking listen to me!” Quentin’s explosion of anger isn’t surprising to Nate, but he shifted away from Quentin, afraid he was going to get hurt. He moved away, now a foot apart from his so called friend. And as terrible as Quentin at reading the others but upon seeing Nate shy away, he managed to tone down his anger to just a bite in his voice, he didn’t want to hurt Nate. “You’re the only fucking person I can talk to about this!” 

 

“About what, Quentin?” Nate asked. “You haven’t told me.”

 

Quentin bit down on his straw. “How did you know that you were like….” He trailed off, biting down on the straw again. 

 

“...?” A quizzical look appeared on Nate’s face. “I don’t read minds, Quire, that’s your job.”

 

“That you were like…you know. Into men, like a f ~~.~~ ” 

 

“Don’t say that word.” Nate narrowed his eyes, staring sharply at Quentin. Quentin adjusted his posture, somewhat frightened by Nate. “You’re  _ not  _ a gay man.” 

 

“How did you know you were gay?” Quentin corrected himself. “How did you know you wanted to suck dick?” 

 

“I don’t know. I just kinda...liked boys. It wasn’t an ah-ha-moment or something. Girls just didn’t feel right.” Nate wasn’t even going to open the can of worms that Quentin had given him. That was for another time. “Do you think you’re….?” 

 

“No--no!” Quentin was defensive. “I mean I dated Idie, and I liked her. I really did. I was like. In love with her I think.” Quentin brushed his hair out of his face. Only now did Nate notice that Quentin was in his pjs. He wasn’t clean shaven and his hair was a mess, Nate liked this rawer version of Quentin, but that was mostly due to the fact that he bought him tea. 

 

Quentin bought him tea in his pjs. An odd thing, but it was something that made him a little bit more appealing to his tastes, this was a Quentin that Nate would understand people crushing on. 

 

“But there’s this guy…” Quentin tore off a bit of his nail. “I’ve been thinking a lot about him recently.” 

 

Nate braced himself for Quentin saying the words “Benjamin Deeds”, that he was helplessly and hopelessly in love with Benji. It wouldn’t be out of character for Quentin, to be in love with someone who only saw him as a friend, the two feelings, friendship and romance, were deeply intertwined for Quentin.  Just three years ago he was in love with a Cuckoo who had no feelings for him, but she ended up dead, and from what Nate had gathered, he really wanted to be her friend too, not just her lover. However, for Benji’s sake, Nate did not want Quentin to be his next lover. 

 

He needed to force Benji to write that down somewhere, in case he died, or got sent to the astral field or something, Benji wouldn’t date Quentin.

 

“Benji?” Nate asked, a little worried that the answer would be  _ ‘yes’ _ .

 

“No.” Quentin looked appalled at the suggestion that he might be in love with Benji. “You don’t need to be jealous. I ‘m not in love with your boyfriend. He's my roommate, and I don't shit where I cook.” 

 

“I’ll be honest, I have no idea who else it could be. Trev’s a little too young and too blonde for your tastes, no?” To be honest, Nate was more than a little relieved. 

 

Quentin went back to biting his nails. “Promise you won’t laugh?” 

 

“I feel we’re past that point.” Nate rubbed the back of his neck. “You bought me bubble tea and you’re sitting in my bedroom in what I feel is your rawest state. We’ve gotten too intimate for my taste.” 

 

“That doesn’t mean you won’t laugh.” 

 

“Quentin, I could care less about who you’re into, just tell me or get out.” 

 

“Alright.” He took a deep breath. “It’s Robert. Robert Herman.” 

 

At first, Nate thought he was talking about Iceman, Robert Drake, but once he said the last name, his eyes actually widen into a state of shock. “Glob? You like Glob?” 

 

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!” 

 

“I’m not laughing!” Nate said, still shocked.

 

Quentin scrunched his nose and the rest of his face into a frown.

 

“I’m surprised that you like Glob. Especially when you’ve dated someone as beautiful as Idie!” 

 

Quentin punched Nate in the shoulder. It was everything but playful, but Nate took at as something playful. “I thought you were gay! And Glob’s my best friend, he’s  _ beautiful _ too!” If you were to ask Quentin three months ago if he was going to defend Glob’s beauty, he would’ve said no. However, Quentin took it personally that Nate didn’t think that Glob was handsome, whether it was love or four years of companionship, Quentin would’ve laid his life down for his friend.  

 

“I can be gay and still think women are beautiful, idiot.” Nate rubbed his shoulder. “You think I’m sexually attracted to shoes too, cause I think they’re pretty?” 

 

“Have you seen the pair of Balenciagas I own?” Quentin changed the subject quickly, not wanting to lament too much on the fact that he’d mentally tore himself open, and Nate made fun of him. “ _ I’m  _ sexually attracted to those shoes.” 

 

Quentin was right about the shoes, they were sexy in a way that Nate couldn’t describe, something about alligator leather shoes was sexy. “Don’t change the subject! You like Glob and you’re embarrassed about it? ” 

“I’m not embarrassed about it! I just don’t know if I like Glob or if I  _ like like _ Glob.” 

 

“You’re twenty, use your words. We’re not in highschool anymore. You can tell me how you feel about him in no vague terms. Doesn’t that brain of yours have a million  _ glorious _ thoughts per  second? ” He hated to say it, but Quentin wasn’t annoying when he acted like this, when he was  _ human _ and a  _ mess _ that wasn’t produced by consuming copious amounts of  alcohol. 

 

“It certainly feels like it is!” Quentin was frustrated, but Nate was right, he couldn’t just ignore what he was feeling. “I don’t know how to process it. I feel like I’m too old to suddenly be like,’ oh hey I like guys too’!” He pressed a hand to his face. “What if he doesn’t like me back?” 

 

“If any man’s gonna like you, it’s gonna be Herman.” Nate said, in no vague terms. “We’ve touched before, he seemed to really admire you.” Nate then leaned against the wall. “It’s never too late to change your sexaulity… like I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure we’re allowed to do that.”

 

Quentin sighed out loud. “This was so dumb. I feel so dumb.” 

 

“Most crushes feel that way.” Nate said, “I don’t think they ever get easier.” 

 

Quentin groaned, he had a crush on Glob and it wasn’t going to go away. “This sucks so much.” He put his head in his hands, placing the bubble tea between his thick thighs. They both stayed quiet for a moment, before Quentin spoke again. “Thank you for like, listening or whatever.”

 

“No problem. The bubble tea helped.” Nate raised his cup in a makeshift toast. “It was good.” 

 

Nate put his hand on Quentin’s back and patted him softly. This really wasn’t the worst way he could be woken up from a nap. 


End file.
